MARAD Announces Contracts to Recycle Four Victory Ships in Suisan Bay Fleet

Published Jun 22, 2006 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced that contracts for the disposal of four ships from the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in Benicia, California, have been signed. Under the terms of the contracts, Marine Metal, Inc., of Brownsville, Texas, will dismantle the “Hannibal Victory” and the “Sioux Falls Victory.” All Star Metals, Inc., also of Brownsville, will dismantle the “Barnard Victory” for $1,202,949 and the “Occidental Victory “for $1,191,987. All four ships will be dismantled and the steel recycled. Since October of 2005, nine ships from the Suisan Bay fleet have been recycled.

MARAD operates and maintains three National Defense Reserve Fleet Sites. In addition to the Suisan Bay site; the James River fleet in Virginia and the Beaumont fleet in Texas are being disposed of by the Maritime Administration. The mandate to dispose of more than 100 obsolete, decrepit marine vessels has been slowed by numerous legal challenges from environmentalists, and by governmental restrictions on where, how, and when the ships can be recycled. MARAD arranges for the disposal of these ships and works closely with the U.S. Coast Guard to ensure the safe transport of the vessels to their final destinations.

Acting Deputy Maritime Administrator Julie Nelson said, "We are recycling them in a way that respects their history and maintains the highest safety and environmental protection standards." In recent years, this effort has included attempts to export certain vessels to other countries, intentional sinking to create artificial reefs and the usual method of dismantling for recycling purposes in domestic yards.